Morgan still unsure when she will return from injury

The injury that has kept Alex Morgan largely out of action since October is not progressing as fast as she would hope.

Speaking to reporters as the Portland Thorns began preparing for the start of NWSL’s second season, Morgan gave an update on her left ankle, saying she does not know when she will be able to return to the field. U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni told SBI last month that Morgan was set to undergo an MRI scan in March that would be revealing in terms of the star forward’s recovery, but Morgan made no mention of it and strictly said that she is healing albeit not at the pace that she would prefer.

“I’m still trying to get back on the field, I’m still trying to get running,” said Morgan. “We’re progressing but obviously a little slower than I’d like. As of right now, there’s no real timeline to my recovery. I’ve learned that over the course of the last couple of months that I can’t put a timeline on it.

“It’s a very rare and unique injury, so we’re trying to treat it as well as possible and I’m looking forward to getting on the field whenever I can.”

The injury, which Morgan said is a stress reaction in her talus bone, has kept the 24-year-old striker out of several recent U.S. camps and looks set to force her to miss Portland’s start of the NWSL season in April.

“The longest injury I have ever been out for is my ACL and now this is creeping up as one of the longest injuries I’ve ever been out for, so it’s really hard,” said Morgan. “Mentally it’s challenging to stay positive, but I’ve just had a lot of support, with coaches, medical staff, family, so it’s been really nice to have that support. Hopefully we can continue to heal it right and I’ll be back on the field as fast as I can.”

Sermanni and the rest of the U.S. squad are surely hoping for that, especially after seeing their undefeated streak end with a two-game losing streak in the Algarve Cup and with World Cup qualifying for the 2015 tournament fast approaching.

“This entire Algarve Cup is definitely not what we wanted moving forward into World Cup qualifiers later this year,” said Morgan. “Hopefully we can sort everything out now and hopefully I can get back in with the team soon enough. I think the girls are a little bit down in Portugal right now, but I think Tom and the coaching staff and the players all need to get together and work something out because the lineup changes could be a factor, but again I want them to stay positive.

“I’ve gotten a lot of texts and calls from them and I really hope to be back with them soon, but they’re going through a rough time and so I hope they pick it back up.”

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What do you think of Morgan still not having a clear timetable for recovery? How badly do the USWNT need her back?

Supposedly the talus bone is a bone in your ankle with poor blood supply not attached to muscles but held in place by the surrounding bones. That sounds like something that might take a while to heal but be detrimental to your soccer career until it does. Someone may have given her an optimistic prognosis but it’s supposed to be a slow healer.

The stories seem to suggest she was in a “boot” for a period but some of the WebMD kind of things you can find online suggest keeping weight off the injured ankle and being on crutches. Supposedly this is like stress damage/ bone chipping you can do while spraining an ankle which drags out the recovery. The ligament heals but now you have a bone chip in your ankle, in a spot where the blood flow is not great and healing slower.

Best wishes to Alex. At the moment, I am recovering from a partial medial meniscus root tear, which is a structure that also gets poor blood supply and is very hard to heal. I had bone bruise pain etc bc the meniscus not giving proper shock absorption. After several learned opinions, I was suggested to go non weight bearing for 2 months, but I was also told I could do elliptical, since it did not cause me pain to do. NWB had no logic to me bc NWB would induce atrophy, change my gait, cause new problems and certainly not help blood flow, whereas elliptical sense for exercise and blood flow and the activity caused no pain. The very latest data suggests that avoiding excision of the meniscus is ideal. After 2.5 months of no exercise + 2.5 months of elliptical, the pain is gone and I can actually run and play soccer again. Have not done the 2nd MRI yet to confirm, but functionally, I have returned to normal after what felt like a long, long wait. I may be a medical miracle, or simply on the cutting edge of new approach to the injury. I hope Alex can have the same success.

Most important thing is to have Morgan fit and in form entering WC-2015. Can’t rush back if it means jeopardizing being there for the USWNT when it really counts. She is obviously sorely missed this season.

Alex (I have no idea if your read these boards, I doubt it…nevertheless),

Yes, the Algarve Cup sucked for the US royally. Ugh!

Yes, you seem to have a weird type of injury that takes an indeterminate amount of time to heal properly and strongly (excuse any redundancy here please).

Do what it takes to get healthy and back to your super-Alex form, and do it in a way that isn’t foolhardy. I have deep confidence that the US can qualify for the world cup without you. I seriously lack the confidence that they/we can win the world cup without you.

That, in my opinion as a huge fan of you and the USWNT, is *the* goal (so to speak) that you should be focusing on; namely winning the world cup. Don’t come back sooner than is healthy, as frustrating as it surely must be to avoid doing otherwise.

We the fans miss you very much, and heart you very much. Get well, and do it right while getting well! Did I mention that we miss you?